50 years since the Open University transformed learning

It was 1969, the time of Woodstock, the end of The Beatles and the launch of the Raleigh Chopper. In homes across the land, black and white television sets flickered with images of Patrick Troughton as Dr Who and for the lucky few with a colour set, there was the first chance to see Coronation Street – and Elsie Tanner’s red hair - in glorious colour.

The box in the corner was already sucking up more and more of our time. And for those with a thirst for knowledge, for whom university had seemed like something for other people from posher homes to do, it was about to become a passport to a whole new world.

Of course for many, the Open University - which this week marked 50 years since it was handed its charter to help distance learners achieve their dreams - will always be associated with late night BBC2 programmes presented by hirsute, softly-spoken chaps who looked like they spent evenings in a bedsit listening to Yes, pondering Cantor's Theorem over a bottle of brown ale.

But for more than two million students, including those who diligently set video recorders, stayed up late or rose early to catch a man in corduroy explaining Einstein and the Laws of Nature using a cardboard train and a clock, it was life-changing.

Founded in 1969 by Harold Wilson's Labour government and driven forward by Fife-born Minister for the Arts, Jenny Lee, the so-called ‘University of the Air’ may have been frowned upon by the establishment at birth, but today is playing a key role in educating the nation, helping to fill skills gaps and delivering to Scotland’s employers – from the NHS to Fintech start-ups - university-level students with real life and work skills.

And, of course, at 50 years old with modern digital technology at its fingertips, today’s long-distance OU lectures are a much more modern learning experience.

“It has changed a lot of people’s lives who would not have had the chance in the first place, either because of economic circumstances, because they didn’t have the chance at school or didn’t just didn’t really like school,” says Marie Hendry, Depute Director for External Engagement and Partnership for the OU in Scotland. “It has helped people’s lives have changed for the better.”

Those old grainy black and white programmes and handful of courses long ago have now given way to highly-sophisticated digital-based distance learning. There are now over 450 modules offered by OU in Scotland, 500 associate lecturers, and online lectures which make use of foreign-language chatbots, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

Since the first OU courses became available, there have been 70,000 OU qualifications awarded to students in Scotland.

Far from a ‘second chance university’ for the middle-aged seeking the degree they always craved, it now attracts an increasing number of younger students – the median age for an OU student in Scotland is now just 27.

Among its learners are sixth-year pupils at school – some in rural locations with limited access to modern languages or science teachers – graduate apprentices, and NHS workers looking to boost their career prospects.

An increasing number of students are choosing OU over bricks and mortar rivals – drawn by the chance to earn and learn – some looking to reskill to change career, while at the other end of the scale are students in their nineties.

Three-quarters of Scottish students combine studies with work, many also juggle family and carers’ obligations, or debilitating health problems. And the majority are ploughing through STEM subjects – particularly welcome for employers fearing a skills gap – with 40% of Scottish students following a STEM-related course, 49% of them women.

“There is no typical OU student,” adds Hendry. “Everyone is different. People don’t come to our university. We take it to them.”

While debate often rages over how ‘bricks and mortar’ universities can shed their elitist gown and become more open to students from less wealthy backgrounds and inclusive, Hendry points out that 17% of OU in Scotland students come from the country’s most deprived areas, and 22% declare a disability - 9% of which are mental health related.

In Logan close to Cumnock, mother of three Leeanne MacPherson, 38, is managing her BA (Hons) Mental Health Nursing degree alongside night shifts, school runs and day to day life. “You don’t even want to see the ironing,” she laughs.

But the opportunity to study for her nursing degree while continuing to work as a nursing assistant an NHS Ayrshire and Arran mental health unit for the elderly in East Ayrshire has, she says, been life-changing. “It’s been the best opportunity I have ever had,” she says.

Collaborative working between OU in Scotland, the Scottish Government and NHS boards has opened the door to nursing staff like her wanting to advance their qualifications without stopping work – meaning they can continue to fill vital health roles as they train.

The course funding structure means if she does need to spend time away from work, there is financial support to enable her employers to take on a temporary replacement.

For Leeanne, it’s a chance to gain the nursing qualification she once thought may have passed her by after leaving school, working in a jeans factory and then combining raising her family with working in childcare and then in mental health.

“I do feel guilty sometimes when I’m sitting with the laptop and the kids are saying they’re bored and want to do something,” she admits. “There can be sacrifices, but it’s four years to get me where I want to be. “

In Inverness, Karis Williamson, who has congenital muscular dystrophy, also says the OU has been life-changing. “It has given me some self-respect, and re-educated me about what education really is and who I really am and what I'm capable of,” she says.

Karis, who features as part of a new photography collection taken by renowned British photographer Chris Floyd, to mark the OU’s 50th Anniversary, began studying with OU aged 16, mostly ploughing her way through Arts modules.

She is now studying for a BA Open Degree, which allows students to choose their own subjects to build a bespoke qualification. Support through the university and the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) has given her access to invaluable equipment, including an eye-gaze computer and special software.

Most of her studying is done at home in Inverness, where her garden shed has been turned into a ‘Book Temple’. “Due to my illness I can never take tomorrow for granted,” she says. “I wanted to squash in as much as possible while I can.”

Perhaps once considered a lesser option than a traditional degree, Hendry - who is herself studying for an OU MBA - believes employers are increasingly recognising the quality of an OU graduate.

“They say time and again that the people who graduate have effective time management skills and that tenacity to be able to study at the same time as manage careers and family and other responsibilities. They’re adaptable, flexible and creative thinkers.”

It makes for an emotional graduation ceremony, she adds.

“There are people who are recovering from cancer, or whose parents have died while they were studying, they might have health issues or worked hard around a family.

“There are tears. They are often crying, and we are often crying with them.

“It’s lovely.”

Tie piece

The Open University has attracted well-known figures keen to improve their knowledge, and had an impact on television viewers’ and radio listeners’ understanding of culture, nature and science.

Sir Lenny Henry, who presented an hour-long BBC4 documentary Happy Birthday OU: 50 Years of the Open University, on Thursday (25 APRIL) obtained an English Literature BA (Hons) in 2007.

He said: “Without the OU I would never have dreamt of making all the documentaries I have done in the last 10 years. Because of the OU, I have been able to engage with these texts in a critical fashion with some academic polish.”

Other well-known former students include Myleene Klass (Astrophysics), Holly Willoughby (Psychotherapy), Jerry Hall (Humanities) and serial killer Myra Hindley (Humanities).

Meanwhile, retired newsreader Anna Ford’s first television work was as a social studies tutor for the OU from 1971-74. And Robin Wilson, the son of Prime Minister Harold Wilson who was a major driving force behind its creation, went on to be an OU maths professor.

The OU also gave some famous names their first television break – David Tennant and Daniel Craig were in OU televised dramas. David Prowse – the actor who filled the imposing shoes of Darth Vader in Star Wars – also appeared in the OU’s version of Jean Genet’s The Balcony.

Each year the OU co-produces approximately 35 prime-time TV and radio series. They have included some of the UK’s best-loved programmes including Coast, James May’s Big Ideas, Bang Goes the Theory and Blue Planet II.

Radio commissions have included Economics with Subtitles, BBC Inside Science and The Bottom Line.

The OU has also played a role in fiction. The Archers, Brookside, Ever Decreasing Circles, Birds of a Feather and Goodnight Sweetheart have all had OU students written into their plots, while actress Julie Walters’ big film break came when she portrayed an OU student opposite Michael Caine in Educating Rita.

Minister for further and higher education, Richard Lochhead, said: “As one of the world’s first successful distance teaching universities, the Open University was founded on the belief that communications technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend traditional campus universities. More than 2 million people from over 150 countries have benefited from their courses.

“I congratulate the Open University on its 50th anniversary and commend it for its long tradition of widening access to higher education for learners from non-traditional backgrounds, and for its approach to flexible learning, giving every student the opportunity to learn in a way that benefits them.”